DHGate.com and it's legality?

[Zzmanzz]

I recently came across dhgate, a site that sells a lot of products for very cheap comparatively. I understand that the manufacturers in china, for example for Yeezy's. take the over-stocked product and sell it online. But whats the legality behind this? Is it legal for me to buy it, is it legal for them to sell it, and may I resell it to others without breaching any laws or regulations?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gogol]

Is it legal for me to buy it?

It depends on the particular product, and the import law of your country. For example, in India (according to my personal experience), they never ask to pay import duty if the item I am bringing is less than let's say $50. For some products, e.g. mobile phone; you will have to pay custom duty. As an example, I had to pay ~ $70 for a ~ $200 phone once. It ended up being a horrible deal for me.
There are some products that can't be imported in India. Those products might be allowed in your country though. For details, check with your customs department (there should be an website for that depending on what country we are talking about).

is it legal for them to sell it?

Again, it depends on the product. Most of the time, it will be legal to sell the product you see on dhgate (or aliexpress, gearbest etc)... otherwise, those sites would have removed the listings before you see it.

and may I resell it to others without breaching any laws or regulations?

I don't resale products, so I am not exactly sure on this one.. but my best guess is that it will depend on the copyright law in the country you are selling the product in.

 

[timothywcrane]

The only thing that might get you in the US is the hot new trend of customs tariffs. The new rates make no sense. Most electronics are set at an extra .07 tariff right now (when customs catches it as a biz ship) with nuclear reactors only rated at .05 extra, with it hitting as high as .10-.13 on apparel and shoes. While this can bring you a good advantage when not shipping legit and under pricing those of us with clear customs consciences , it can hit you hard if caught red handed or having to pay on the level pricing. Guess its time to go into civil nuclear power deals. I never thought DHGate had the best prices to begin with IMHO... personally I have seen people having better luck selling US products at US prices in the CN mainland and selling (gifting) to CN consumers... automatic 10-20% margin. The same can be said for US electronics being made in MX for US export but directed back to MX consumers.

In all cases you must be on the lookout for knockoffs, some are cheap enough to "re-white label" but most are just a high risk investment. As for other legalities, search copyright and trade law forums and then talk to a legal expert. My personal advice is that before you purchase ANYTHING, get a good, on the ground logistics agent rather than buy "online direct". Trying to get someone (think VA, not someone in "the industry", as they have no split loyalties) on the ground at YiWu or the Canton fair to be your eyes on the ground can be an eye opener. (the real MOQ for one)

 

[virtualman89]

I follow a general rule of thumb with DHGate. If its a branded product, it is counterfit. And if you sell it in the United States, or other countries that have strict counterfit laws, it is illegal. And eBay, Amazon, and other major websites will ban you if they suspect you are selling counterfit. My advice is don't do it.

Unless the item is a generic product, it is not worth it. It's a shortlived business model.

 

[Zzmanzz]

I follow a general rule of thumb with DHGate. If its a branded product, it is counterfit. And if you sell it in the United States, or other countries that have strict counterfit laws, it is illegal. And eBay, Amazon, and other major websites will ban you if they suspect you are selling counterfit. My advice is don't do it.

Unless the item is a generic product, it is not worth it. It's a shortlived business model.

I see, buying one pair of shoes for example (real example) and then selling it somewhere else most likely wont raise brows though yes? If I were to sell it in bulk, then I'd probably have problems legally im assuming?
So if I may, follow up question. If I WERE to sell things from dhgate (assuming they are fake) how much would I have to sell in order for it to be seen as illegal enough to pursue? Because im sure one pair of shoes wont put me in jail right?


And does this make it that if its not branded, then its fair to be sold because theres a higher chance that it isnt counterfeit? Meaning that as long as it isnt fake, its legal? Thanks so much.

 

[virtualman89]

Yes. If it is not branded and generic product, it is a high possibility it is legal to sell online and offline. This is the way I would recommend you go.

The issue I have with selling counterfit, besides the obvious fact that it is illegal, is that you will never be able to scale. It is not a smart business model. There is so many ways to make legit money, that the energy it is going to take you to launch the business can be invested in something legit. And it will be scalable without fear of getting caught.

I'll give you an example. There is warehouses in the United States that sell pallets of returned items. If you chose the right company, and you have honest sales representatives, you can make a great living doing that. These are high end, branded products. Yes some products won't work, but the majority do, if you chose the right company. It will take you the same amount of effort to do something like this, and make huge margins.

The reason I would imagine that you are leaning towards DHGate, is because you don't have any other ideas to make money. But there is tons out there if you search and are willing to plunge in on a very small scale to test the market.

My advice is stay away from counterfit items. It looks like easy money, but in reality there is never such a thing as easy money. All money earned isn't easy to earn. So I would invest that energy into something else.

That is just my opinion.

 

[Zzmanzz]

Yes. If it is not branded and generic product, it is a high possibility it is legal to sell online and offline. This is the way I would recommend you go.

The issue I have with selling counterfit, besides the obvious fact that it is illegal, is that you will never be able to scale. It is not a smart business model. There is so many ways to make legit money, that the energy it is going to take you to launch the business can be invested in something legit. And it will be scalable without fear of getting caught.

I'll give you an example. There is warehouses in the United States that sell pallets of returned items. If you chose the right company, and you have honest sales representatives, you can make a great living doing that. These are high end, branded products. Yes some products won't work, but the majority do, if you chose the right company. It will take you the same amount of effort to do something like this, and make huge margins.

The reason I would imagine that you are leaning towards DHGate, is because you don't have any other ideas to make money. But there is tons out there if you search and are willing to plunge in on a very small scale to test the market.

My advice is stay away from counterfit items. It looks like easy money, but in reality there is never such a thing as easy money. All money earned isn't easy to earn. So I would invest that energy into something else.

That is just my opinion.

Very useful information. I'll stay away from this then. Thanks!